You go to the Historical Society’s Oyster Fest and get really, really upset when they serve fried oyster sandwiches with sesame seeded hamburger buns. Hot dogs go with hot dog rolls, hamburgers go with hamburger buns and fried oysters go with oyster rolls. Yorkers take their traditions and food seriously. Don’t mess with the food and assume no one will notice. I noticed. I was not happy. I’m sure the colonists didn’t have sesame seeded buns with their oysters. If oyster rolls were good enough for our ancestors they should be good enough for us. Please, bring back the oyster rolls.

To which, three commenters stated:

– You know you’re a Yorker if you write to the newspaper to complain about the rolls at an oyster dinner.
– Lets give some credit to a Yorker who actually took a break from eating long enough to complain about rolls…..there is hope for York yet.
– You know that you’re a Yorker if you notice the sesame seed but miss that the name is the Heritage Trust!

If you want to continue on this string, comment below.
And then there was this comment on The Exchange, which stated in part:

People In York County ate a lot of oysters. There was a park In town when I was a kid and the one thing I do remember was this huge oyster shell pile reaching maybe ten feet high.

If you remember the location of that park or if you have any other stores about York County’s love affair with oysters, comment below.

Carolyn Miller, right, and Eleanor Lawyer coat oysters with cracker meal Thursday night in preparation for a November 2006, hogmaw and oyster supper at Dover Township’s Mount Royal United Methodist Church in Dover Township. Background post and hogmaw recipe: How about a little hog maw with your oyster stew?

About the Author

About the Author

Before retirement in April 2019, Jim McClure was editor of the York Daily Record/Sunday News and associated digital products since May 2004. He also served as state editor for Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland for Gannett’s USA TODAY Network. He is the author or coauthor of seven books on York County history and holds a master’s in American Studies from Penn State Harrisburg, where his research focus was on York County journalism history.

York Town Square explores both the rapidly changing world of journalism and the landscape of regional history. History and journalism are part of a continuum, and this site hopes to intrigue readers on both accounts. See additional York Town Square posts here.